JPH05174901A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a connector which can be identified at a glance and also suitable for coupling specified devices by giving marked individuality to the appearance of the connector. CONSTITUTION:A connector 1 is made up of a male connector 1a and a female connector 1b; a projecting part 6 is formed at the front face 2a of the male connector 1a and a recessed part 11 whose form coincides with that of the projecting part 6 is formed at the bottom of the female connector 1b. Then, the projecting part 6 is formed after the form of a trade mark, etc., and further, a light emitting element 7 and a light receiving element 12 are respectively embedded at appropriate places of the projecting part 6 and the recessed part 11, so that both the elements, 7, 12 are assembled in such a state that the male connector 1a and the female connector 1b are coupled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector for connecting a control device and an input / output device by connecting a male connector and a female connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional connector, for example, a male connector in which male-side contacts are arranged on the side surface of a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped protruding portion, and the male-side contact is formed on an inner wall of a receiving hole into which the protruding portion of the male connector is fitted. There is one that is combined with a female connector provided with a female contactor that contacts the child. Then, the connector is designed so as to prevent erroneous connections other than specific devices or parts by changing the shapes and dimensions of the projecting portions and the receiving holes.

[0003]

However, in the above connector, it is difficult to determine the difference between the connectors even if the overall shape and the arrangement of the contacts are checked, which may be inconvenient in handling. For example, if it becomes necessary to replace the connector due to poor contact, etc., you must refer to the instruction manual etc. to check the type of connector, or the number of contacts differs by only a few. When there are many connectors, it takes time to check the mating male and female connectors, and the workability deteriorates. And further,
Since the connector itself has no individuality, for example, there is a possibility that an input / output device that is not compatible with a specific control device may be erroneously purchased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a connector which can be distinguished at first glance by adding a strong personality to the appearance and which is suitable for connecting specific devices.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a connector for connecting a male connector and a female connector to electrically connect a control device and an input / output device, etc. In the butted part of the connector,
A convex portion is formed on one side, and a concave portion having a shape matching the convex portion is formed on the other side, and the convex portion or the concave portion is formed by, for example, a character, a figure, a symbol such as a trademark or a logo mark, or a combination thereof. In addition, a light emitting element and a light receiving element are embedded in appropriate portions of the convex portion and the concave portion, respectively, and a male connector and a female connector are coupled to each other so that the two elements are combined in a photocoupler shape. To do.

[0006]

[Operation] At the abutting portion of the male connector and the female connector,
By forming a convex portion or a concave portion in the shape of a character or a figure such as a trademark or a logo mark, a strong individuality can be added to the portion. Therefore, even if the overall size and the number of contacts are the same, the connector can be easily identified. Further, since signals are transmitted and received between the light emitting element and the light receiving element embedded in the convex portion and the concave portion, the signal cannot be transmitted and received unless the convex portion and the concave portion are completely aligned.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a male connector 1a and a female connector 1b. In the male connector 1a, 24 male contacts 3, 3 ... Are arranged side by side on the side surface of the protrusion 2 made of synthetic resin,
The protruding portion 2 is surrounded by a male housing 4 having an inverted trapezoidal shape. The front face portion 2a of the protruding portion 2 is a portion that abuts with a bottom portion 5a of a receiving hole 5 of a female connector 1b described later, and a convex portion 6 having a trademark shape is formed on the front face portion 2a. A light emitting element 7 made of a light emitting diode is embedded by utilizing a part of the convex portion 6.

On the other hand, the female connector 1b has an inverted trapezoidal shape that fits into the male housing 4 of the male connector 1a, and the synthetic resin body 8 is surrounded by a metallic female housing 9. On the front surface of the synthetic resin body 8, a receiving hole 5 into which the protruding portion 2 of the male connector 1a is fitted is formed.
The female side contacts 10, 10 ... which come into contact with the male side contacts 3, 3 ,. A concave portion 11 corresponding to the convex portion 6 of the projecting portion 2 is formed on the bottom portion 5 a of the receiving hole 5. The concave portion 11 has a shape obtained by reversing the convex portion 6 of the projecting portion 2 and fits exactly into the convex portion 6. Further, in the concave portion 11, a light receiving element 12 including a phototransistor is embedded so as to face the light emitting element 7 embedded in the convex portion 6. The light receiving element 12 and the light emitting element 7 face each other in a state where the convex portion 6 and the concave portion 11 are fitted to each other, and are combined in a photo coupler shape.

Since the connector 1 of the present invention is constructed as described above, if the male connector 1a is inserted into the female connector 1b, both are electrically connected. The combination of 24 sets of contacts and one set of the light emitting element 7 and the light receiving element 12 can be used as a 25-pin type connector. It should be noted that the male connector 1a and the female connector 1b should be securely coupled to each other by using well-known connecting fittings, screws and the like.

Next, a specific application example of the connector 1 of the present invention will be described by exemplifying a combination of a pachinko machine P and a prepaid card compatible ball lending device T. 2 is a perspective view showing the pachinko machine P and the ball lending device T in combination, and FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the pachinko machine P and the ball lending device T in combination.

The pachinko machine P has an outer frame 13 having a rectangular frame shape, and a front frame 14 which is hinged to one side of the outer frame 13 so as to be openable and closable. A window hole 15 is formed in the front frame 14, and a glass door frame 16 is provided above the window frame 15 so as to close the window hole 15.
However, the front plate 17 is attached to the bottom so as to be openable and closable.
The front plate 17 has an upper ball plate 18a for accumulating pachinko balls on its front surface, a ball rental button 19 for keying a ball lending command to the ball lending device T, a return button 20 for keying a return command of a prepaid card, and It has an operation panel 22 provided with a balance display portion 21 for displaying the balance of the prepaid card. On the other hand, on the back surface of the front frame 14, a game board 23 and a mechanism board 24 that overlaps with the game board 23 are provided. In addition, the front frame 14 is provided with a lower bowl 18b for receiving an overflow ball from the upper bowl 18a, an operation handle 25 for adjusting the firing force of the pachinko ball, and the like.

The mechanism plate 24 is hinged to a peripheral frame 26 surrounding the game plate 23 so that it can be opened and closed with respect to the game plate 23. A ball tank 27 that stores pachinko balls, an introduction gutter 28 that allows the pachinko balls of the ball tank 27 to flow down, and a fixed number (for example, 15) communicating with the end of the introduction gutter 28 are arranged on the mechanism plate 24 in order from the top. A prize ball discharging device 29 for discharging a prize ball by driving a motor, and a pachinko ball discharged from the prize ball discharging device 29 for the upper ball plate 18a and the lower ball plate 18
A guide gutter 30 leading to b is provided. Further, the mechanism plate 24 communicates with a ball collecting gutter 31 for collecting prize balls and one end of the ball collecting gutter 31 to receive the prize balls one by one, and the prize detecting balls 32 are detected by the ball detecting switch 32. A prize winning ball processing device 33 or the like for operating the prize ball releasing device 29 is provided.

On the other hand, the ball lending device T is of a prepaid card type, and has a thin rectangular parallelepiped case body 34 in which a card reader 35 for reading and writing monetary amount information from the prepaid card and a ball lending control device 36 are provided. Is built in. The card reader 35 has an insertion / ejection slot 37 for the prepaid card facing the front surface of the case body 34, and drives the built-in motor (not shown) to take the prepaid card in and out. The ball lending release executing means of the ball lending device T uses the prize ball lending device 29 as it is, receives a ball lending command from the ball lending button 19 of the operation panel 22, and receives the ball from the ball lending control device 36. The discharge device 29 is set to operate.

The ball lending control device 36 and the operation panel 22 are electrically connected via the connector 1.
That is, the female housing 9 of the female connector 1b is screwed to the inner surface of the front plate 17, the female connector 1b and the operation panel 22 are connected by the cable 38, and the male connector is attached to the tip of the cable 39 of the ball lending control device 36. 1a is attached, and the male connector 1a is attached to the female connector 1 on the front plate 17 side.
It is inserted into b and bonded.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the embodiment, the combination of the light emitting element 7 and the light receiving element 12 is one set, but the light emitting element 7 and the light receiving element 12 are
There may be any number of sets, such as 2 sets or 3 sets, as long as they are 1 set or more. Also,
The shape of the convex portion 6 may be a character string such as "ABC", a number such as "25" or "32" for displaying the connector by pin type, in addition to the figure showing the trademark as shown in FIG. However, it is desirable to select a shape with strong individuality and continue to use it. By doing so, for example, the user can determine whether or not the control device and the input / output device are compatible by simply looking at the connector, which is effective in avoiding troubles regarding the compatibility. Further, in the embodiment, the convex portion 6 is formed on the projecting portion 2 of the male connector 1a and the concave portion 11 is formed on the receiving hole 5 of the female connector 1b, but the reverse is also possible. In the embodiment, the convex portion 6 expresses characters and figures such as a trademark in the correct direction, and the concave portion 11 correspondingly.
However, conversely, a figure such as a trademark may be expressed in the correct direction in the concave portion 11, and the convex portion 6 may be formed in an inverted shape correspondingly. In addition, the convex portion 6 and the concave portion 11
It is desirable to adopt meaningful characters and figures such as trademarks and logos, but of course, meaningless figures and characters can also be adopted.

[0016]

As described above, according to the connector of the present invention, the convex portion and the concave portion having the shape of a character or a figure are formed at the abutting portion of the male connector and the female connector. The manufacturer etc. can be easily identified. Therefore, it is not necessary to refer to the instruction manual or the like when exchanging the connector, and when there are many connectors, it is easy to confirm the paired male connector and female connector, and the workability is significantly improved. Further, since signals are transmitted and received between the light emitting element and the light receiving element embedded in the convex portion and the concave portion, the signal cannot be transmitted and received unless the convex portion and the concave portion are completely aligned. Since it is extremely difficult to process the existing connector with convex parts and concave parts and to embed the light emitting element and the light receiving element in it, it is necessary to connect a device other than the specified device to a specific control device. The act can be effectively prevented.

If the connector 1 of the present invention is used to connect the pachinko machine P and the ball lending device T, the following effects can be obtained. That is, the pachinko machine P and the ball lending device T are closely related in structure and have no compatibility except for a specific model. Therefore, if the connector 1 that adopts a specific figure is used only for the pachinko machine P and the ball lending device T that have been confirmed to be compatible, it is clear about the compatibility when the user purchases the pachinko machine P and the ball lending device T. Moreover, by allowing the pachinko machine manufacturer to permit the use of the specific connector 1 only to the ball lending device T that operates reliably with respect to its pachinko machine P, quality control becomes easier.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a male connector and a female connector.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a combination of a pachinko machine and a ball lending device.

FIG. 3 is a back view showing a combination of a pachinko machine and a ball lending device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Connector 1a ... Male connector 1b ... Female connector 6 ... Convex part 7 ... Light emitting element 11 ... Recessed part 12 ... Light receiving element 22 ... Operation panel (input / output device) 36 ... Ball lending control device (control device)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A connector for connecting a male connector and a female connector to electrically connect a control device and an input / output device or the like, wherein a protruding portion is provided on one of the abutting portions of the male connector and the female connector, and the other is provided. A concave portion having a shape matching the convex portion is formed, and the convex portion or the concave portion is formed into a shape such as a letter, a figure, a symbol such as a trademark or a logo mark or a combination thereof, and the convex portion and the concave portion A light-emitting element and a light-receiving element are embedded in appropriate places, and the two elements are combined in a photocoupler state in a state where a male connector and a female connector are coupled.